Holding The Line Guide Service

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Month: May 2009

I post a monthly summary of results so those looking to plan a trip in advance can have a feel for where the fishing typically has been for that particular month in years past. Note that the cooler months (when bookings often fall off) can offer some of the most productive fishing of the year.

Fished a half-day evening trip tonight on Stillhouse with Aaron M. and Marlon B., both of Killeen. This was the first SKIFF Program trip that I’ve run. SKIFF stands for Soldiers’ Kids Involved in Fishing Fun. SKIFF trips are funded by donations both given by and collected by the members of the Austin Fly Fishers. AFF has commissioned me to take the children of soldiers deployed in harm’s way and the children of soldiers killed while on active duty on guided fishing trips. This was our first trip ever under this wonderful program, and it went great. Aaron is a 5th Grader and his dad is on his 2nd Iraqi deployment. Marlon is a 6th Grader and his dad is on his 3rd Iraqi deployment.

MARLON B. WITH 1 of 35 HE AND AARON BOATED TONIGHT

AARON M. WITH A NICE BASS

Start Time: 4:30p

End Time: 9:00p

Air Temp: 86F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: ~79F

Wind: Winds were light from the E at around 10-11 at the start of the trip, slowly slackening to around E at 5 following sunset .

Skies: Skies were bright and clear the entire morning.

We started off this trip with a little dockside angling for sunfish that we planned to use as bait later in the trip. I equipped the boys with poles and slip bobber rigs baited with the ample, large brown mayflies found everywhere today. In short order the boys boated 10 sunfish including bluegill, green sunfish, and redears (as well as a few blacktail shiners that we tossed back).

With the livewell now well stocked with bait, we set up on a nice E to W drift from Area 067 through Area 158 with the baits staying near bottom in 20-25 feet of water. I also brought a few black saltys just in case. We had a total of 6 strikes on our live baits and landed 2 fish. Both were nice, keeper largemouth that the boys were quite proud of (shown in photos above). We attempted a second drift, only drew one strike and did not capitalize on it. I could tell the boys were ready for a change of pace so we left the bait fishing behind, and headed out to look for some mid-depth or topwater action on artificials.

I spotted about 15 dark terns working over the vicinity of Area 242. Due to the increased exposure of this area to the E. wind, there was quite a chop, and the packs of largemouth driving shad to the surface (which in turn drew the terns) were very hard to spot and required long, accurate casts which were beyond the boys’ ability. So, we headed elsewhere to see what we could find.

Between Area 209 and 444, I began searching with sonar planning on running downriggers if anything showed. Not 6-7 minutes after arriving, slowing down, and watching sonar, my attention was drawn toward the W. bank by the sound of fish feeding on topwater. On closer inspection there were numerous small schools of both largemouth and white bass feeding on shad on topwater. I got the boys re-rigged with Cork Rigs and they went to town. We all caught fish for the next 35 minutes until it got too dark and the fish left the surface and settled down. Over this span of time we landed exactly 20 additional fish — roughly a 50/50 mix of whites and schoolie blacks. After the top went quiet, I let out two Reefrunner Ripshad 200’s and we slowly motored over 10-12 feet of water as I prepped the boat for travel back to the dock. We managed 3 more nice white bass on these crankbaits as we raced to meet our “back to mom curfew” of 9:15.

With 35 fish boated and darkness upon us, we called it a day. These two boys had never met one another before this trip, but left carrying on like best of friends about school, pets, sisters, and video games. I really enjoyed having these two well-mannered young men out on the water today.

TALLY = 35 FISH, all caught and released except the sunfish we used as bait

Fished a half-day morning trip this morning on Stillhouse with Ken C., and his adult nephew, B.J., from Maryland. Neither fellow had fished extensively, so we kept it simple with a blend of topwater sight-casting and downrigging as sonar revealed that approach would be successful.

KEN C. WITH 1 OF 35 TAKEN ON A COMBINATION OF TOPWATER AND DOWNRIGGING

B.J. TIED INTO SOME GOOD FISHING ON THIS, HIS FIRST TIME SETTING FOOT ON A BOAT

A SHOT OF THE LARGE BROWN MAYFLIES COVERING THE SURFACE THIS MORNING

Start Time: 6:20a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp: 70F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: ~79F

Wind: Winds were light from the ENE at around 7-8 at the start of the trip, slowly turning around SE, and slackening to near calm.

Skies: Skies were bright and clear the entire morning.

Prior to sunrise, given some fairly calm conditions, we were able to visually scan a lot of water looking for surface activity. We looked closely in the vicinity of Area 176 and found a mix of white bass and small largemouth feeding lightly. These fish were well-spread, thus requiring some long, accurate casts which in many cases were beyond the ability of my guest. Once the sun rose and the wind picked up a bit, this topwater action dried up, so we turned to downrigging almost immediately after putting only 3 fish in the boat off topwater in over 45 minutes of effort.

Once the ‘riggers were down, we found fish eager to bite from Area 176 to Area 243 as they stacked up between 22-27’ in a very easily identifiable band on sonar, mixed with bait. A sizeable hatch of large, brown mayflies took place overnight but surprisingly little topwater resulted, even amongst sunfish. We spent about 50 minutes downrigging and put 23 fish in the boat on a combination of Pet Spoons and Thin Fins. As the sun got brighter and the winds slacked off, even this deepwater bite began to go soft, so we put up the downriggers and decided to pursue strictly topwater largemouth.

We checked 3 areas (451, 007, and 242) and found topwater action at all 3. The action at 451 was light and well-dispersed. The action at 007 was solid and exploitable due to the fact that the fish were grouped in packs making them that much more competitive and aggressive. The fish at 242 were somewhere in between, and were in the clearest waters of all, and shallow water, to boot, so they were a bit tough to fool despite good numbers of them. Across these 3 areas, using strictly the Cork Rig, we managed an additional 9 fish all of which were keeper largemouth.

By 11:00 things were slowing to a crawl with the sun blazing and the wind nearly still. We did a quick sonar scan from Area 452 to Area 453 to check on the presence of bait and any suspended gamefish that might be relating to them, and found little. We called it a good morning at that point and headed back to the dock.

Fished a half-day evening trip this afternoon on Belton with Belton H.S. football coach Seth S., his younger sister, Sarah, and his youngest brother, Nathan. These were good people, and obviously from a tight knit family. I immediately picked up on the fact that they wanted the best for each other on this trip and didn’t get all competitive like so many folks do. It was really nice to have them on board.

COACH S. WITH THE FIRST FISH OF THE DAY, A DOWNRIGGERED WHITE BASS TOPPING 1.25 POUNDS

Start Time: 3:40p

End Time: 9:00p

Air Temp: 79F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: ~76F

Wind: Winds were variable from the NE to ESE for the entirety of the trip.

Skies: Skies were leaden grey the entire trip, after a brief period of sunshine and sun showers from noon to around 2p. Distant thunder could be heard constantly from the W., up toward the extreme end of Cowhouse Creek.

When Seth and I first discussed this trip, we tried to figure out a way to fish the morning given his family’s travel plans, etc., but it just wasn’t in the cards. Belton has been tough for me in the evenings as of late, plus, the turbulent weather, E. component to the wind, and Memorial Day traffic made for some very difficult conditions. We did managed to put everyone on fish, and a few quality fish at that.

Our first limited bit of success came off of Area 445. We saw consistent, but scattered fish showing on sonar and ran twin riggers through these fish to gauge their activity level. We missed our first to strikes, but Seth hit paydirt on the third and brought in a nice 1.25+ pound white bass which is a very nice white bass for Belton Lake. Additional trolling passes yielded nothing.

We moved to Area 446 and continued to run downriggers, this time catching 3 short hybrid and an additional white bass, all on the White Willow. Sarah missed a keeper hybrid here as well. Once this area played out, we struggled for a while just to find fish, much less fish in a feeding mood.

We did a bit of slabbing around Area 447 without result, we looked over Area 098 and didn’t see a single fish, and we looked over the Area 346 complex and saw just a few scattered, bottom oriented fish, which we tried slabbing for, but without result. We also ran sonar over Area 133, and from 307 to 188, all without graphing fish.

We finally anchored up at Area 168 and landed 2 nice largemouth here and missed two others that jumped at boatside and threw the hook. We stayed here for about an hour plus, until around 7:00p.

Once this area settled down, we headed just E. of Area 192 on the taper from 25′ up to 15′ for one last shot as some fish. We no sooner got baits in the water down around 22′, then we got the best fish of the trip, Sarah’s hybrid shown above. As she was fighting it, Nathan got the second best fish of the trip, also shown above. As they were fighting this fish the graph was lit up with other fish, but as soon as we got reorganized and baits down, it was over for good here.

We made one last stop at Area 442 and got a 2.75 pound largemouth off the high spot and then called it a day.

Fished a half-day morning trip this morning on Stillhouse with Steve B., his son, Franklin B., and his son-in-law, Brian S. As I expected, the lake had a good bit of traffic on it today, but the conditions were pretty solid until mid-morning and we caught fish throughout the early morning window.

Skies: Skies were leaden grey until approx. 10:15a. During this time, no direct sun shone on the water. At around 10:15, the cloud cover began to thin, the skies brightened, and occasional direct sun shone on the water.

Prior to sunrise, given the calm conditions, we were able to visually scan a lot of water looking for surface activity. We looked closely in the vicinity of Area 206 and Area 440 and saw nothing. We then headed to Area 429 and found lightaction spread from here up to Point 555. We managed 3 fish here.

As the fellows fished, I was glassing for more fish and spotted some spread over open water between Areas 243 and 337, then E. toward the shoreline from there. We found a mix of white bass and largemouth feeding on small shad over open water. Quick, accurate casts were essential as the calm conditions ensured the fish would not linger near the top once they snatched the baitfish they were after. We used the Cork Rig very successfully and, by 9:20 had boated exactly 16 fish with about a 50/50 mix of white bass and largemouth.

By 9:20 or so, despite the heavy cloud cover, the sun continued to brighten through the clouds and by this time, put the fish down. We still saw ample fish holding suspended and in a feeding mood at the 27 foot range and so downriggered them with both a Pet Spoon and a Lunker Licker and did equally well on both, despite the small forage size. In a short 40 minutes we caught an additional 20 fish — 17 white bass and 3 largemouth. The majority of these fish came on or near the channel break from Area 176-243.

By 10:15, this bite was waning and the fellows wanted a shot at some larger fish to finish out the day. We looked over Area 206 once again and found solid schools of white holding down around 15-18 feet, but no surface action from largemouth as I’d found here at this same time recently. We headed over to Area 433 to work it over with jigworms. On the way 2-3 largemouth broke the surface and Franklin quickly got his Cork Rig out to them and managed one keeper out of that loose school. We headed on to fish Area 433 with jigworms going up the E. side first and the W. side after that. We wound up with 2 keepers in the boat, and one additional missed at boatside on the jump. As is typical of these fish, the bite was a light pressure bite and nothing more.

We wrapped up at 12:20 with the sun finally breaking through continuously for the first time all day, and thunderstorms beginning to build to the NE near Loop 121 and to the far NW, out near Gatesville and over the Owl Creek and Cowhouse Creek areas.

Fished a half-day morning trip this morning on Stillhouse with Fernando G. and his friend Nihls, of Costa Rica. Fernando is an Austin banker and a lay minister; Nihls is a vocational pastor visiting from Costa Rica with Fernando’s congregation. These two very decent Christian men were a pleasure to have on board.

NIHLS WITH 1 OF SEVERAL NICE BLACK TAKEN ON TOPWATER TODAY ON THE CORK RIG

FERNANDO WITH A DOWNRIGGERED WHITE BASS TAKEN ON THE PET SPOON

Start Time: 6:20a

End Time: 12:30p

Air Temp: 60F at trip’s start. 79F at trip’s end.

Water Surface Temp: ~75.5F

Wind: Winds were light and variable at sunrise through 10am; then took on a definitive SE track at around 7-8 mph from 10:30 on.

Skies: Bright, clear, and dry during trip time, with skies going fair by mid-afternoon.

We fished 5 areas today and found fish at 4 of them.

We began our trip pre-sunrise set up over shallow water at Area 443 looking for a topwater bite on the calm conditions. We found small, scattered schools of white bass on top with small largemouth lurking beneath. All were feeding on young of the year shad. Due to the bright conditions, what action did exist didn’t last very long. We spent less than an hour here and managed 4 white bass, 3 largemouth, and missed 3 more hooked and lost at boatside.

While it was still not fully bright yet with the sun still at a low angle, we headed to Area 432. Again, we saw very scattered activity, and the action looked more like largemouth popping larger shad than it did white bass. We stopped just briefly to survey the situation. I got one small largemouth very quickly on a bladebait, but I didn’t see enough here to interest me, so we moved on.

We headed to the submerged point between Areas 440 and 441 and after seeing fish on a single downrigger pass here, decided to give downrigging a try. We came up with 3 nice white bass, all going 13-15 inches. As we passed over the high spine of this feature, fish would appear on or near bottom each time. We therefore gave vertical jigging a try, but these fish really just wanted a horizontal presentation and nothing else. We left these fish alone and went to look for more action.

We headed to between Areas 209 and 197 and found open water white bass schools lightly sipping shad fry on the surface. These fish were nearly untouchable due to the bright, clear sky and the calm surface. We attempted Cork Rigs, but came up emptyhanded despite a number of well-placed casts that would have produced if the fish were turned on to this.

Around 10am, we ended up our trip in the area bounded by Area 205 to the W., Area 206 to the N., and Area 444 to the E. The 20′ contour line was our north boundary. As I idled into this area with sonar on, a definite trend developed. Abundant gamefish arches showed on sonar at the 22-24 foot mark throughout this area. Whether that 22-24 foot mark intersected with bottom or if it was suspended over 30-40 feet didn’t matter … the fish were sandwiched in that band. This posture was ripe for a downrigging approach. We geared up with Pet Spoons (knowing that the forage was probably very small) and went to work. Over the next 2 1/2 hours we boated exactly 63 fish. The vast majority of these were keeper white bass, with some going to 13.75 to 14.50 inches. We had a good number of barely keeper and short largemouth mixed in. A number of times we had (largemouth, especially) strike a near-surface lure as we were preparing to lower the downrigger ball. After showing my guests how to rig the downriggers themselves, Fernando commented several times that it took longer to rig and lower the system than to get bit once the rig was at depth. Twice, both at times where higher wind speeds existed for several minutes in a row, we sited very aggressive topwater feeding by largemouth bass forcing ~3 inch threadfin shad to the surface. We played with these a bit throwing Cork Rigs so both fellows could enjoy the sight of a largemouth tracking and smashing a surface bait, but only landed 4 fish this way in the short window of time these fish were accessible. One time we did give vertical jigging a try, but the fish were reluctant towards a vertical presentation, and so we returned to downrigging. With a ministry event planned for the evening and a nap planned for the afternoon, the men had to call it quits around 12:30. So, we left these fish biting and called it a day.

With light winds prevailing this morning, I searched over open water for schooled white bass feeding on shad and shad fry. I found no action at Areas 432-337 as there was already a ripple on this water. I headed to calmer water at Area 090 to Area 418 and found small, scattered schools of whites lightly feeding on shad fry over 10-15 feet of water. Fish were seen on sonar throughout the water column, but only those in the top 5 feet of the water column would respond. I threw both a Cork Rig and a bladebait and did better on the blade — specifically a white/green 3/8 oz. Cicada. This action was short lived and dried up within 20 minutes as the sun rose and was unobscured. I managed 7 fish during this short feeding spurt.

Next, I looked over the Area 145 complex and found a few fish tight to the bottom. I vertical jigged this area while hanging out a single live bait rod with threadfin shad. I got 4 whites, 1 drum and a small largemouth on the slab and missed 3 fish on the live bait.

I then looked over Area 243, saw a few fish and jigged it without result. I also looked at Area 429/430 and Area 079 without fishing them after seeing little.

I then went to Area 439 and fished the middle of the slope here in 25-30′ and caught 1 nice 3.25 pound largemouth and a drum.

I ended up the trip working over the stretch of water between Area 440 and 441. Here, white bass were orienting to the tail of this twin underwater set of points in about 30 feet. There were a few fish on bottom on the point, but most were holding at 30 feet to the E and W of the point over the deeper adjacent water. These fish were ripe for picking with downriggers and I worked them over with White Willows picking a fish up every single pass for 17 straight passes. Before wrapping up, I tried vertical jigging the top of the point very quickly. I did get 1 fish to respond, but they were much more interested in a horizontal presentation than a vertical one.

Fished a half-day morning trip this morning with Tom and Eric K. of Austin. Tom works for Dell down there, and Eric is a graduating high school senior headed to OU (with his head screwed on straight and a plan for his life).

ERIC K. GRIPPING AND GRINNING MINUTES BEFORE WE GOT WASHED OUT

As we discussed this father and son’s expectations for the trip, it was clear these fellows had done a lot of fishing together and had a preference for quality over quantity. With this in mind we rigged up for live shad fishing targeting hybrid striper on Belton Lake.

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 8:45a

Air Temp: 69F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: ~75F

Wind: Winds were SE at 9 at trip’s start, then swung around due E and lightened. This was to be the calm before the storm, literally. At around 9:00a, winds shifted suddenly from the N. with a very sudden drop in air temperature, thunder,lightning, and rain.

Skies: Cloudy and grey up until the front hit, then heavy clouds and rain until some partial clearing began in the early evening.

With expectations of heavier than normal traffic on Belton today due to the Texas Striper Association tournament here, we got out on productive water early and anchored up awaiting sunrise and the first bite of the morning. With a variety of baits out including treadfin shad, perch, and black saltys, we found all the action came on the shad today.

We only got in about 2 hours of fishing before the storm sent us packing. We spent our entire time on Area 098 and were able to boat 2 barely legal hybrid, a white bass, and a blue cat. 4 other boats did join us. We only saw 2 other hybrid caught amongst these vessels, as well as a handful of white bass. We used a combination of anchoring and drifting with a drift sock to put this catch together. We had several other attempts made at our baits, but no solid hits. All four fish that took our baits well were hooked and landed — a tribute to Tom and Eric’s ability to actually properly play a fish and bring it to net.

By 8:45a, a wall of water was moving towards us from the W. and a messenger boat dispatched from BLORA was going from boat to boat warning of the severe weather coming. We packed it up and were shutting our pickup truck doors as the first raindrops fell. Soon, the winds were gusting 30mph+ from N and a cold, hard rain was falling. By mid afternoon over 3/4 inch of water fell.

Fished a half-day morning trip this morning with Doug and Sandy B. of Killeen. As we discussed this couple’s expectations for the trip, Doug let me know he’d rather pursue a few quality fish versus going for quantity. With this in mind we rigged up for live shad fishing targeting hybrid striper on Belton Lake.

DOUG AND SANDY WITH DOUG’S BIG BIRTHDAY SURPRISE, 37 INCHES

SANDY INSISTED ON USING MY LARGEST LIVE BAITS AND IT PAID OFF FOR HER

A POST-SUNSET BUFFALO TAKEN ON A 3/8 oz. BLADEBAIT

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 1:00a

Air Temp: 72F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: ~75-76F

Wind: Winds were SE at 11 at (obscured) sunrise. Around 9:00a, winds shifted ENE and a light rain fell with darkening skies. Not long after, the skies, though still cloudy, brightened a bit and the winds lessened and went back ESE at around 9 for the remainder of the trip.

Skies: Heavy clouds until 2p, then clearing to fair for the remainder of the day.

We looked in a number of areas today for fish and found little on sonar at Areas 024, 308, 346, 365, and 415

We enjoyed success at the stretch between Areas 133 and 080 , however these fish were scattered and suspended, so I used the downriggers with one fixed and one as a fish chaser. After boating 8 fish, all were white bass and sonar was not revealing any compelling clues that the remainder of the fish we were seeing were hybrid so we left (small) fish to find (larger) fish.

We found fish an boated one hybrid and a 15″ blue cat at Area 155, then drifted from there to Area 154 and beyond it, heading W. on the E. wind without result.

We then moved to Area 168/169 and got into the most consistent action of the day. We baited with jumbo gizzard shad (up to 13″). We missed a number of fish here as Doug tried to find the sweet spot on his hooksets, but, in the end boated 3 fish, including the catch of the day — a nice, healthy, hard-pulling 37″ flathead catfish that took a 9 inch long gizzard shad.

We finished up with a drift over Area 098 which yielded a white bass and a second hybrid after which we called it a day.

After dropping my guests off, I headed back out to catch shad for an upcoming trip on Saturday.

Found abundant gizzard shad at Area 435, netting 64 gizzards in 7 throws.

I then sampled a few areas with fresh shad, still looking for a good population of hybrid, but found none. I did catch several nice largemouth and a blue cat at Area 442, a blue cat and a drum at Area 138, and a large smallmouth buffalo up shallow to the W. of Area 437.

Fished a half-day morning trip this morning with Rod T. of Copperas Cove. Rod and I are buddies from church. He’s winding up his tour here at Ft. Hood and shipping off to the D.C. area, so we took a farewell fishing trip before he pulls up stakes.

ROD T. WITH 1 OF 53 WE BOATED TODAY

Start Time: 6:30a

End Time: 11:30a

Air Temp: 74F at trip’s start.

Water Surface Temp: ~74-75F

Wind: Winds were SW at 2-6 at sunrise, staying light until around 9:30a, then picking up SE, then E, then NE by trip’s end.

Skies: Skies were mostly cloudy with high humidity causing haziness.

As we began our trip, we slowly motored over an expanse of open water known for topwater action this time of year wherein hungry white bass feeding up after the spawn pin shad fry against the surface early and late in the day. Today, the conditions were just right — a light wind, an overcast sky well into the morning, and no easterly component to the wind.

In a circular area bounded by Area 432 to the west and Area 337 to the east, we found ample topwater action for nearly 2 hours and during that time landed 44 fish, both white bass and small largemouth, all on the Cork Rig. Many boats passed right by this action due to the subtlety of the feeding — no splashes, no rings on the surface, just soft, near surface swipes leaving little visual evidence unless you were stopped and looking for it.

After this action waned, we headed down and looked between Areas 007 and 217. We saw 3 individual fish strike shad on the surface upon arrival, but little after that.

Headed to Area 433 and we both worked a jigworm for about 30 minutes for a single keeper largemouth.

Our next success came after a tip from the terns. They were circling over Area 434 on top of some schoolie largemouth popping shad on top. We stopped and added 3 bass to the count here, all just shy of legal.

Our final stop came at Area 145. Right in the middle of this complex we encountered both bottom hugging and suspended schooled whites. By now the wind had turned E and was on its way to NE, so I didn’t expect much of a bite. Despite seeing more fish, we landed only 5 here, all on the TNT180 in 3/8 oz. via jigging and smoking.

And so ended the farewell trip with Rod. God bless you, Paula, Amber, and Anndrea as you head north. Give me a ring when the stripers come up out of the ocean!!